Dan Patch wore shoes. Horseshoes, of course. And many people received Dan Patch horseshoes as a special gift from Dan’s owner M.W. Savage, including President Teddy Roosevelt at the height of Dan Patch’s harness racing career.

And now, residents can find and own a one-of-a-kind replica of one of Dan Patch’s shoes in the Dan Patch Horseshoe Hunt. The hunt is sponsored by the Dan Patch Historical Society and spans the four weeks leading up to Dan Patch Days from June 19-22.

Clues are given out each Saturday in the Savage Pacer to lead to the location of the special horseshoe hidden somewhere on public property in Savage. The first clue will be published on May 24. Clues for the horseshoe hunt will also be available at the Dan Patch Historical Society Web site (www.danpatch.com) by 9 a.m. on each Saturday of the contest. Plus, clues will be posted at the Savage Library at approximately 10 a.m. Saturday mornings during the contest. 

Whoever finds the horseshoe and has a registered 2008 Dan Patch Days button wins $100. The lucky winner also gets to keep the commemorative horseshoe and will then be invited to ride in a horse-drawn carriage, with their family, in the Dan Patch Days parade on Sunday, June 22.

Dan Patch Days buttons can be purchased via the Dan Patch Historical Society’s Web site (www.danpatch.com) and at the American Legion, Razor’s Edge Barber Shop, Savage Library, Marketplace Liquor, Dan Patch Liquor and Dan Patch Coffee Depot.